Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, Season 1/Episode 3 – “Wicked Old World”
Air Date: Sunday, May 10, 2020 at 10PM E/P on Showtime
Reviewer Rating: 4 Stars
“Don’t make me hurt you; I’ve had about the worst week of my life. And believe me, when a Jew says that, it fucking means something.” –
Det. Lewis Michener
If you haven’t started watching Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, then you need to catch up and fast. The third episode, “Wicked Old World,” widens the scope of what is going on in Los Angeles circa 1938. Some intriguing plot points are exposed like a raw nerve, while other stories begin to unfold like dirty laundry.
After the dramatic ending of episode two, “Dead People Lie Down,” where a comatose Raul (Adam Rodriguez) wakes up after being shot by his brother, Det. Santiago “Tiago” Vega (Daniel Zovatto), it’s difficult not to wonder why Santa Muerte (Lorenza Izzo) answered Maria Vega’s (Adriana Barraza) prayers. Surely there are many Chicano mothers praying for their sick and/or injured children.
Why did Santa Muerte choose to save Raul? In the premiere episode, Santa Muerte said, “There is a prophecy, a time will come when nation will battle nation, when race will devour race, when brother will kill brother, until not a soul is left.” Does Raul have a role to play when the prophecy comes to fruition?
What did you think of Mateo (Johnathan Nieves) telling Raul that it was Tiago who shot him? Agree or disagree?
Getting back to “Wicked Old World,” other devasting revelations come to light. The charred remains of two men in the morgue, friends of Det. Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane), hit hard. If you recall, in the last episode, Sam Bloom (Richard Kind) and Anton Chevic (Bill Smitrovich) get a little too close for comfort. They were following a suspected Nazi, Richard Goss (Thomas Kretschmann), and it got them killed. Michener takes their deaths extremely hard and sets out to avenge their murders.
Michener follows a young man, Brian Koenig (Kyle McArthur), to Cal Tech in Pasadena after seeing him have dinner with Goss. In the hopes of getting answers, Michener takes Brian to find out what he knows about the Third Reich’s plans. The information revealed (and Michener’s tactics) are quite alarming.
Lane gives a commanding and visceral performance in “Wicked Old World.” From breaking down after seeing his friends’ remains to kicking a guy in the face, Lane truly embodies the role of a veteran detective in a tumultuous time.
Tiago gets a little too cozy with Joyful Voices Ministry’s leading lady, Sister Molly Finnister (Kerry Bishé). Their impromptu date on the Santa Monica pier isn’t as secret as she’d hoped. Even though she gave up the Popeye the Sailor Man™ doll Tiago won at the shooting gallery, her intrusive mother, Miss Adelaide (Amy Madigan), isn’t about to let her money-maker star of a daughter go out alone or unattended. Good old creepy Randolph (David Figlioli) is all too happy to be to the unintended chaperone.
And how creepy is Mis Adelaide being in Molly’s apartment, waiting for her in the dark. When she starts to sing the “Popeye the sailor man” song, I got goosebumps. On a side note, I am obsessed with Molly’s outfit in this episode!
There is something a tad off with Sister Molly and almost certainly something fishy going on with Joyful Voices. The amount of money they are raking in is obscene, especially during this era of time. What are they funding with all that money? Do they have any ties with Goss? And we still don’t know who murdered the Hazlet family, all of whom were very close with Miss Adelaide, Molly, and Joyful Voices ministry, especially Papa Hazlet who was Deacon of the church.
The story arc that’s gaining traction and becoming quite enthralling is Councilman Charlton Townsend (Michael Gladis), his faithful assistant Alex (Natalie Dormer), and their secret dealings with Richard Goss. The Third Reich must be desperate to want to try and groom this gluttonous, chauvinistic pig of a City Councilman for Mayor of Los Angeles. And we learn that Townsend has a secret vice to get him through his anger… he’s certainly not a ladies’ man. A secret this dark and scandalous is bound to come out (all puns intended).
As we know, Dormer plays many roles in Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. She is Alex, Elsa (the housewife and mother), and Rio (I’ll get to that in a moment), but they are all one woman in the end; they are all Magda, the Woman in Black. Magda spins her dark web of destruction over many citizens in Los Angeles, but to what end? Is she merely after the satisfaction of ruining lives, watching them suffer, or all these poor souls’ mere pawns in her wicked game?
As the Pachuca Queen, Rio incites rebellion among all the Pachucos, urging them to fight against the LAPD to take back what’s theirs – the city. And of course, young Mateo is completely enraptured by their way of life after he visits Fly Rico (Sebastian Chacon) at the Crimson Cat club.
Elsa, the so-called abused housewife, is at it again. After failing to show up for her son Frank’s (Santino Barnard) doctor’s appointment, the honorable Dr. Peter Craft (Rory Kinnear) decides he needs to go and check on them. Of course, he finds Frank outside crying, and when knocks on the door, Dr. Craft is greeted by Elsa and her black eye. I will admit, I’m not quite sure what Elsa is doing, but since Elsa is really Magda, I’m going to venture a guess that she is trying to get close to Dr. Craft and all his German friends who are loyal to the German cause. Despite their parades proclaiming they love America; it doesn’t mean much when they’re wearing Swastikas.
At the end of “Wicked Old World,” Michener tells Tiago about Molly sleeping with Papa Hazlet (no actor credited) who was also embezzling money from Joyful Voices. Of course, after the wonderful afternoon Tiago and Molly had, it’s a hard pill to swallow, even when you chase it down with yummy Gimlets. Now I need some gin!
What do you think Magda’s game is? What is she hoping to do? She’s got her hands in so many pots, it’s hard to figure out her strategy.
Tune into Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, Sundays at 10PM E/P on Showtime.
For more, go to https://www.sho.com/penny-dreadful-city-of-angels
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Judy Manning
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